WWE
WWE is reportedly looking to enforce a one-year non-compete clause on Andrade after he was fired by the company then returned to AEW.
News of Andrade being fired by WWE for “disciplinary issues” emerged in mid-September, before he appeared on AEW Dynamite on October 1 – well within the usual non-compete period – attacking Kenny Omega and joining the Don Callis Family.
The story that emerged at the time was that, because of the nature of his firing, Andrade didn’t have the usual 90-day non-compete clause attached to his WWE departure.
The phrasing of WWE non-compete clauses in the usual sense is something of a misnomer, as it’s really just 90 days notice (or 30 for NXT) where you’re still under contract and still get paid – but if you get outright fired for something like a breach of contract, rather than just a company decision, there’s a different clause in place which is more of an actual non-compete, which it appears is what’s happening with Andrade.
After the aforementioned October 1 appearance, he hasn’t appeared for AEW again and hasn’t been added to the promotion’s website roster page.
Today, it was reported that there was some kind of issue involving his non-compete period, and WWE had sent a letter to AEW about it after his appearance.
In another new update, Bryan Alvarez reported the following on Wrestling Observer Live:
“They are trying to hold him to the terms of his deal. The terms of the TKO contracts – I believe this was in the prior contracts as well, but for sure it’s in the new contracts – is that if you are fired with cause, they are going to try to hold you to a one-year non-compete.
“Fired for cause or a breach of contract.
“So what they’re trying to do is not allow him to work for a year.”
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Lance Storm confirmed this clause was in WWE contracts in 2019 when he signed to be a producer, years before the TKO takeover.
The clause is essentially in place as a deterrent to stop talent purposely getting themselves fired because they want to leave and go straight to work somewhere else.
However, there’d be questions over whether it would hold up if challenged in court.
We’ll keep you posted with any further updates as they emerge.
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